William Desjardins, Born In 1831, Describes Political Battle Between Col. Prince And Francis Caldwell
There is nothing more interesting than to sit by the side of an old person, and with him, or her, to take a glance in the veiled pastand to live over the days that have gone by. As I sat, on Wednesday, January 7th, Beside William Desjardins, at his home on Tecumseh Road, near Little River, and listened to his narrative of the events of his long, modest and useful life, mixed feelings of unbounded admiration and deep respect in turn captured me.
As I heard him relate with abundance of details, accuracy of dates and correctness as to the names of the actors, the broad lines of the history of our county for the last eighty or more years. I could not but admire the faithfulness of his memory; as I listened to him describing the habits and customs and conditions of life that obtained in the pioneering days, my respect for those early settlers whose courage in the face of terrible odds, never failed, grew every moment. In depth and intensity; and as, finally, just before the parting, shake of hands, I heard him sing one of those old songs, behind the simple forms of which is concealed the loftiest sentiments of heroic devotion and sacrificing love, and as I saw him welt under the emotion which that very song was creating, and quietly wipe a tear that was rolling down his wrinkled cheek, I realized that within his rugged frame, that had stood so many severe tests, was a soul that is built to smother all the asperities of life.
Born In 1831
William Desjardins was born in 1831; ninety-four winters have passed over him since he saw the light of day, on a little farm on Pillette Road which his parents were operating at the time, and which belonged to Laurent Reaume. He was the third of eleven children that were born to Guillaume Desjardins and Marie Drouillard, both of whom were the offspring of earlier Essex settlers. When he was still in the cradle, his parents moved to Stoney Point, where they stayed for three years, going after this while to Walpole Island, which was then called by the pioneers, I'lle du Sult. Guillaume Desjardins and his family were dwellers on Walpole Island for four years returning after the rebellion of '38 to the Laurent Reaume farm-now the beautiful property of Joseph I. Reaume.
Built Log Cabin
Four years later Guillaume Desjardins again changed his place of residence and went on Tecumseh Road where he built himself a log dwelling on the farm now owned by Norman Lassaline. There were only a few dwellers on Tecumseh Road at the time, best known being Francois Belleperche, L'Abee Janisse and Vickers St. Louis. Most of the pioneers, as is well known, established themselves first on the river front; or by the lake shore; it was not until about the year -1848, when the floods became menacing, that they moved to Tecumseh Road, Guillaume Desjardins therefore was one of the first permanent settlers to plant his home on that famous historic highway. Young William was only eleven years old at the time but has a vivid recollection of the trials that attended the building of that log house and he tells interesting tales of how the howling wolves infected the forest an annoyance to themselves and a menace to the scanty stock that his father has brought from the lake front. He relates that one night when his father was away for a load of lumber for the flooring, the wolves came down in packs and lodged themselves under the house, and kept the whole family in prostrating fear with their howling and growlings. They did not get out of the house until the father arrived the following day. He also tells how he helped in the construction of the new house, weilding the axe to cut the branches and limbs of the fallen trees, and doing such other work as his tender years permitted. In this house it was that Guillaume Desjardins raised his family. Guillaume Desjardins and his wife, nee Marie Drouillard passed away on the farm of Francois Souilliere, on the lake front, within one year of each other, some thirty years ago.
One of Eleven
As stated above, William Desjardins was one of a family of eleven children. The others were: Marie who married J.B. Soulliere; who died in 1914 at a very advanced age. Julienne, who became the wife of Francois Soulliere; she died in 1907; Heloise, married Francois Soulliere, cousin of the above and nicknamed Pouseeke; she died six years ago. Archange who became Mrs. Leon Souliere; she has been dead five years, Francois who married Amelie Cecile, he died nine years ago. Alexis who married Helene Souliere; he died in 1924. Jacques, married Mary Soulliere; died three years ago. Auguste married Jennie Lacac Que; he has been dead eleven years. Patrice, married Marie Grifford, he lives in Detroit, Virginia married Jimmie Souiliere;she died thirty-one years ago.
To the reader of this enumeration of marriages one fact will stand out in prominance; it is the number of alliances among the Desjardins and Soulieres. These intermarriages have led to a circumstance of unusual interest and rare singularity. You will note that Archange Desjardins married Leon Souliere and Jacques Desjardins, Archange's brother married Mary Souliere. This Mary souliere was the daughter of Leon Souliere by a first marriage, the name of his first wife was Pitre. It thus follows that Leon Souliere married the sister of his daughter's husband.
Married When 22
William Desjardins, the subject of this narrative, was married at the age of 22, to Victoire Souliere. The ceremony was performed by Father Point in the historic Assumption Church of Sandwich. From this marriage ten children have been issued, five of of whom are still living. Mrs. Desjardins died at Tecumseh six years ago.
Mr. Desjardins having reached the advanced age of 94, and of enjoying the unempaired use of all his faculties and senses, but also, and particularly, of being the progenitor of five generations and of 166 children, grand-children and great grand-children. His children are: Willie, he married twice; his first wife was Elizabeth Robidoux, by whom he had thirteen children, eleven of whom are still living. His second wife is Marceline Drouillard, widow of the late Francois Ducharme. He lives in Tecumseh, is 69 years old and points with pride to his being the forefather of four generations, the number of his children and grand-children being 57. John, he is married to Adeline Nantais. he is the father of ten children, all living and the grand-father of 23. total 33. he is 67 years old and lives in Tecumseh. Josephine, she is the wife of Arsas Drouillard and the mother of eight children, all living, and of sixteen grandchildren, total 26. She is 60 years old. Auguste, twice married, his first wife was Louise Souliere, his second is Rose Hennin. He is the father of ten children, all living, and the grandfather of 14.Total 24. He is 56 years of age and lives in Tecumseh. Odile; married Dennis Mayea. She is the mother of 9 children and the grandmother of 7. total 16. She is 52 years old and lives near Little River, on Tecumseh road.
Five Generations
The five generations of William Desjardins are the following: First, William Desjardins, the subject of this story. Second, William Desjardins Jr. his son who lives in Tecumseh. Third, Malvina Desjardins, now Mrs. Joseph Pelletier, of New York Mills, U.S.A. She is the daughter of William Desjardins Jr. Fourth, Achille Pelletier of new York mills, U.S.A. he is the son of Malvina Pelletier. Fifth, Jean Pelletier, of New York Mills, he is eight years old and son of Achille pelletier.
As I stated above, Mr. William Desjardins enjoys the full use of all his faculties; he is in splendid health, is an inveterate smoker. He is possessed of a beautiful voice, has an abundant repertoire of songs, old, new, and is a most entertaining raconteur. I sat with him on Wednesday, for several hours and was in rapture all the time. he is a remnant of a past that is fast disappearing.
Tells of Rebellion
Mr. Desjardins tells several interesting stories of incidents which have occurred in his days. Some relate to politics; others to life in his neighborhood in the days of pioneering and there is one which takes us as far back as the rebellion of 37. When the frontier troubles of these distant years reached the lakes and the peninsula, Mr. Desjardins was 7 years old and was on Walpole Island. The Patriots across the St. Clair River had made no raids on the Island, but there were many indications of their activities. Several Recruits had been gathered at Chatham, and fearing that the Loyalists might disturb them in their muchinations they decided that it would be prudent to, patrol the Island. Not finding any in their ranks who would stand as sentinal on the shores of the Island, they made bold to force one of the dwellers there on the Island to act as such. Guillaume Desjardins father of the subject of this narrative ,was the victim. Mr. Desjardins relates the incident with tears in his eyes.
Taken Prisioner
"One day" he says " my father was coming into the yard driving his two oxen, which were hauling a big tree that he had just cut down for fuel. Just as he was nearing our house, two men, who were coming in the road, approached him. They carried guns and swords and were Patriots from the American side. We, children, and my poor mother came out to see what they wanted, for my mother had heard through the neighbors, that they had been active. My father was far from being a coward, but he had no gun and they were two, and armed to the teeth. They said that he, my father, would have to go with them right away and join the Patriot cause. Upon his refusal one of them put his bayonet in my father's back and ordered him to walk. My mother and all we children came out of the house crying, and begged them to leave us our father as we had no wood in the house and as there was no one capable of cutting any.They pushed my mother aside and shoved my father ahead of them, with their bayonets in his back. They kept him for a month and a half and we never saw him all that time. We had hardly anything to eat and no wood to burn in the fireplace. I will never forget it. my mother had to take the axe and cut that tree into firewood."
Regarded as Rebel
" When my father came back we thought that our troubles would be at an end. But no. The Loyalists had heard that my father had joined the Patriot ranks of his own will and they regarded him as a rebel. One night my uncle, Th'nomme Drouillard, came to the house all in a sweat. He said that the Loyalists were on their way down and that if we wanted to save our lives we had to skip as fast as we could. My father did not want to go, but my uncle was so nervous and excited that he got us all out of bed, put us in a big canoe and we started across the river St. Clair. We could not see anything. It was awfully cold and the river was practically locked in ice. When we finally got across, we were all shivering and half frozen, and we, the children were all crying and hungry and frightened."
Nearly Drowned
" We got into a house that belonged to a Mr. Drummond, the house was right near the shore of the river. During the following day the river got jammed in ice and water began to rise. We went to bed that night, and the first thing we knew, we were nearly drowned. The water had flooded the house and we had to get out. We got out in the middle of the night and went into the store that was close by, and stayed there until the jam was broken. We were in a most freightful plight, my father had no money and wanted to go back to the island, but my uncle was afraid that the Loyalists would make it hot for them. We stayed on the American side for eight days. We had hardly anything to eat during all that time. At last my father decided that he would return home no matter what the consequences might be. We again took our canoe, got into it and started back for the island. When we reached home we found that our stock had not been fed and was half starved. But my father set himself to work and he managed to save the oxen and the cows. I was only seven years old at the time, but I can remember it as well as if it was yesterday. The Loyalists never did anything to my father, but I tell you that he never had any sympathy for the patriots."
Full of Stories
" In those days the voting was done in Sandwich, and all the electors would flock there on election day. They would come from near and far, everyone bringing his opinions and everyone ready to uphold this opinion with vote and fist. As the voting was done openly, it was not difficult to learn how the people voted. The poll was in one of the rooms of the jail, and in that room only the returning officers were allowed to enter. The officers could not be seen from the outside, as there were no windows and the door always closed. Quite high in the wall was a hole, and when an elector wanted to vote somebody would hoist him on his shoulders so that he could show his face through the hole. Then the elector would announce his name and call out the name of the candidate whom he supported."
In last Monday's municipal election in Sandwich East, Mr. Desjardins went out and voted, and he says "he did not lose his vote." He says, " he had to vote openly, as he can neither read nor write." " That's the way we used to vote in the olden days anyways," he says. He recalls his first vote in 1850. Francis Caldwell was running against Col. John Prince, " I voted against Prince; I was not afraid of it either" he says. " Prince always won his election " he continued. " The people wereafraid of him; he was the most dominating man I ever saw. He would fight-he would do almost anything. He was an Englishman, but the French-Canadians always voted for him just the same. I could not vote for him, because he was a Conservative and I never voted for a Conservative."
At the election between Mr. McLeod and Col. Rankin the battle had been very hot. Mr. McLeod was in the lead by nine votes and Colonel Rankin's supporters thought that something crooked had been done. They therefore decided that they would not let the returning officer announce the result of the election. They went into the ajoining woods and orchards and cut themselves pieces of sticks, which they intended to use upon the McLeod supporters. The McLeod men did the same thing and it looked for a while as if a regular battle would take place. Fortunately Col. Rankin came upon the scene in time to prevent this from happening. According to Mr. Desjardins however, some of the McLeod men returned home with several bruises. He further states that the returning officer was unable to make his announcement from the steps of the jail. The Rankinites had taken possession of the jail and he had to announce the results from a house a few blocks away. But Mcleod lost the election.
Mr. Desjardins has scores of stories relative to reflections at which he voted. He also tells of a certain Desjardins by the name of Jos. Ganz, who used to spread fear and dread in Sandwich East. This Jos. Ganz was a colored man, but was married to a white woman. He used to have this body on the farm now owned by Edward Hattershy (note: last name may be wrong, hard to make out the name on the article), on Tecumseh Road west of Little River, and it was said that he had many killings to his credit. He was always armed with a revolver and made it a point to watch the railroad tracks for people who were coming from Windsor with provisions or clothing. He would stop the people, rob them of there goods, beat them with sticks and threaten them not to tell on him under penalty of death. Mr. Desjardins had a fall in with Ganz one night, and escaped only by cutting through the bushes. shortly after Ganz was arrested by a squad of police and sent to Kingston on a life sentence.
Mr. Desjardins is a most entertaining narrator, and despite his 94 years tells jokes with effect, and enjoys a good story.
Tells of Shooting
One of his recollections is the killing of a rebel after the battle of Windsor, on December 4, 1838. This rebel was a refugee in the barn of Allexis Pilette, and Badishou ( note: name may not be spelled right, hard to read on article). Labadie was one of the men selected by Prince to scour the country in search of fugitives. Early one morning he was in company with Pierriah (note: name may be spelled wrong, hard to read on article) Marentette, and they found this rebel hidden in the hayloft of Pilette's barn. They dragged him out and shot him on the spot. The shooting caused quite an uproar of protest from the peaceful people of the district who disapproved of such justice. The perpetrators of this "crime" were not punished by Colonel Prince, but Mr. Desjardins states that they both ended their days, one was shot, the other hanged himself by accident.
Another of his recollections had to do with a story told to him by his father relative to the murder and scalping of the two young Cada boys on the Hebert farm on the lake front. These two young men were engaged in building a fence on the Hebert farm, when they were accosted by a gang of Indians, who'd murdered them and scalped them. Francis Cada threatened to organize the whole country in an effort to drive the Indians out of the territory but was prevented from doing so by the military authorities. This was during the War of 1812. It is said that the two red murders got away with only a slight punishment.
Mr. Desjardins also has a number of stories to tell in connection with his fishing experiences on Belle Isle and in Detroit. He tells with viger and has the faculty of making his narration so vivid as to bring the scene right to you. He is a very interesting old man. I hope he will live to reach the centry mark.
Note: Because of size this whole article cold not be placed on a page. Also, the print was too small, some too faded to read. I therefore placed the first part of the article, and copied the rest of the article, William Desjardins story.